Microsoft debuted a new device today: the Surface 3. The tablet has a lot to offer, including the fact that it’s the thinnest and lightest tablet the company has ever shipped, but the real kicker is that it runs a full version of Windows 8.1. In other words, Windows RT is dead.

Windows RT, released in October 2012 along with the Surface RT, is an edition of Windows 8.x designed for mobile devices that use 32-bit ARM architecture. The Surface RT was meant as an example first-party device for other computer makers.

Microsoft unveiled the Surface 2 and Surface Pro 2 in September 2013. Last year, the company only announced a Surface Pro 3 in May, leaving many scratching their heads as to where the cheaper counterpart was.

As the years and months dragged on, computer makers (including Asus, Dell, Lenovo, and Samsung) slowly backed out and stopped offering Windows RT devices. Sales were abysmal; consumers simply weren’t interested. Soon, Microsoft was the only company left offering tablets with Windows RT.

Rumor has it that Microsoft was planning to launch a Surface Mini, an even smaller tablet, but the device was ultimately scrapped. The Surface 3 thus arrived more than a year after its Pro counterpart.

So, what took so long? Microsoft was trying to figure out what to do with Windows RT, and finally decided to scrap it. Additionally, the company was likely waiting for hardware to improve so it could offer a tablet with a full version of Windows that didn’t take a huge performance hit.

The imminent death of Windows RT became increasingly clear at the start of 2015. In January, Microsoft stopped manufacturing the Surface 2, saying absolutely nothing about a successor. In February, Microsoft stopped manufacturing the Nokia Lumia 2520, the first and last Windows RT device the Finnish company created before it was acquired.

Now it’s March, and the only device that could potentially offer Windows RT in some way is shipping with Windows 8.1. Tablet market growth is slowing, and while Microsoft still hopes Windows will continue to play a role, it won’t be in the form of Windows RT.

Windows 10 will succeed Windows RT. A mobile version of this latest and greatest operating system will be available for devices that are 8 inches and smaller, but since the Surface 3 is a tad larger, it is getting a full version of Windows 8.1 that users can upgrade to a full version of Windows 10 for free.

“Microsoft is working on an update for Windows RT, and will have more to share later,” a Microsoft spokesperson told VentureBeat. “ARM devices will continue to be a crucial part of the range of devices Windows 10 supports, with an optimized experience for ARM-based phones, phablets, and small tablets up to 8 inches.”

Translation: We don’t expect there to be any new devices with Windows RT. That said, we’ll update Windows RT in an attempt to not completely piss off our guinea pig customers who bought devices with this operating system.

Most important in that quote is that Microsoft isn’t giving up on ARM devices. Windows 10 is another big bet, though it’s being made from a slightly stronger position this time. After all, Surface is now a billion-dollar business.

Microsoft today unveiled the Surface 3, the successor to the Surface 2 and the thinnest and lightest tablet the company has ever shipped. Instead of sporting Windows RT like its predecessor, the Surface 3 runs a full copy of Windows 8.1 (64-bit). This is likely why it is priced slightly higher, starting at $499 (compared to $449).

There are four price points in total. The Surface 3 goes for $499, while the Surface 3 with 4G LTE is an extra $100 at $599. Both come with 2GB of RAM and 64GB of storage, but you can double up to 4GB of RAM and 128GB of storage for another hundred bucks: $599 for just Wi-Fi or $699 for 4G LTE.

The Surface 3 is available for preorder today via the Microsoft Store, both retail and online, as well as select retail stores in 26 countries. Those same retailers and resellers will offer the Surface 3 for purchase starting on May 5. Microsoft is promising availability will expand that weekend in all 26 countries, making the device and its accessories available broadly by May 7.

The full list of launch countries is as follows: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Korea, Luxembourg, Malaysia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, the U.K., and the U.S. Microsoft also confirmed the Surface 3 (4G LTE) will be available through T-Mobile and Verizon in the U.S. “later this year.”

The Surface 3 features stereo speakers with Dolby Audio-enhanced sound, a microphone, two 1080p HD cameras (8MP rear-facing and 3.5MP front-facing), and a three-position kickstand. Connectivity includes Wi-Fi (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac), Bluetooth 4.0 low energy, and of course 4G LTE for those who are willing to spend an extra $100 (plus data plan).

As for physical connectivity, the Surface 3 offers a full-size USB 3.0 port, a Mini DisplayPort, a microSD card reader, and a Micro USB charging port (translation: you can use most smartphone chargers to recharge this tablet). It is compatible with the Surface Pro line of adapters so you can use it with the existing line of accessories.

Surface 3 Screen Protector and Surface 3 Power Supply are also available separately for $50 and $40, respectively.

The Surface 3 weighs 1.37 pounds (622 grams) and has the following dimensions: 10.51 x 7.36 x 0.34 inches (267 x 187 x 8.7 millimeters). Last but certainly not least, Microsoft is promising up to 10 hours of video-playback battery life.

Software

The Surface 3 may ship with Windows 8.1, but users will be able to upgrade to Windows 10 for free when the latest and greatest ships this summer. This is the same deal offered to existing Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 users: Surface 3 owners also have one year to upgrade to Windows 10 for free.

The Surface 3 comes with a one-year subscription to Office 365 Personal, which includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and OneNote. Office 365 Personal also includes 1TB of OneDrive storage, though a subscription renewal will cost you $70 per year.

Who is it for?

Microsoft describes the Surface 3 as being similar to the Surface Pro 3 in that “it’s a tablet that can replace your laptop” but notes that it is “thinner, lighter and even more affordable.” In other words, this isn’t aimed at the business worker, but the average consumer.

More specifically, the company is positioning the device at students and employees in various industries. In fact, Microsoft has already started striking deals with companies and educational institutions interested in offering cheap tablets to employees and students.

“Surface 3 brings what customers love about Surface Pro 3 to more people, delivering the premium design and productivity of Surface in a more affordable device,” Panos Panay, corporate vice president of Microsoft Surface, said in a statement. “We’ve taken everything we learned making Surface Pro 3 and poured that innovation into this newest Surface.”

In short, the Surface 3 is Microsoft’s third attempt at a cheap tablet that can double as a laptop. We’ll reserve judgment on whether the third time’s the charm until we can get our massive hands on the small device.

It’s no surprise that by being blocked in China, Google is missing out on some serious search advertising revenues. But a new report today from eMarketer provides more insight into just how much Google may be losing.

For the first time, eMarketer has broken out search advertising as a separate category in its digital advertising reporting. To understand how much the ban may be costing Google, consider first that eMarketer projects around the world (including China), spending on search advertising will increase in 2015 to $81.59 billion, a 16.2 percent increase from the $70.1 billion spent in 2014.

Of that total, Google is expected to capture 54.5 percent of search advertising revenue this year. But none of Google’s revenue comes from China, where eMarketer projects $14.90 billion in search advertising revenue in 2015.

If Google could get even 10 percent market share in China, it would be worth $1.4 billion this year. Instead, it’s basically getting zilch.

The lion’s share of that revenue is going to Baidu. And it’s so large that Baidu will rank second in search advertising revenue on a global basis this year, ahead of Microsoft’s Bing and Yahoo by a large margin, according to eMarketer.

“Baidu is reaping the benefits of Google’s ban in China — and of course, a massive and growing Internet user population,” says eMarketer in its report.

While this report doesn’t cover it, this ban is no doubt being felt increasingly by U.S. companies like Facebook that are also locked out of this market. And the exclusion from China will only get more significant for Google and others over time.

As eMarketer notes, China’s search market is growing rapidly, and will likely eventually eclipse spending in the U.S. According to eMarketer, that $14.90 billion in China search advertising spending compares to $25.66 billion in the U.S. But China’s spending is growing by 32.8 percent this year – about double the overall rate of global growth.

“Baidu’s market share is a testament to the growth and influence of China’s digital ad market on the global stage,” says the eMarketer report.

Indeed, the rate of growth in China is so significant that the fifth largest search engine by ad dollars globally is Sohu.com, another competitor based in China. Sohu is projected to have $520 million in search revenue this year, behind Bing with $3.45 billion, and Yahoo at $1.9 billion.

But while Bing will grow 18.5 percent this year, and Yahoo will grow 6.9 percent, eMarketer said Sohu will grow a whopping 61.6 percent. At that rate, it could be the world’s No. 3 search engine in a few years.

Microsoft launched a new Windows 10 preview today for PCs. The release includes Project Spartan, the company’s new browser shipping on all Windows 10 devices (smartphones, tablets, PCs, and so on). The company described it today as “a browser that is made for easy sharing, reading, discovery and getting things done online.”

Microsoft says Project Spartan’s latest design “puts the focus on the page, not the browser.” Like almost every browser maker to date, the company emphasizes its software “doesn’t visually interfere with your life on the Web, but supports it.”

The following features are available, though Microsoft warns they are in an early and incomplete state:

Cortana (U.S. only in this build): The personal assistant helps make browsing easier for you with whatever you’re trying to get done, based on what she knows about the web, about you, and what you might be trying to do. She remains in the background but provides additional information when you need it.

Inking and sharing: Project Spartan enables you to write or type directly on the page, comment on what’s interesting, or clip what you want. You can then share this “Web Note” via email, a social network, or save it to OneNote.

Reading List and Reading View: Collect everything you want to read, including the ability to save any webpage or PDF for convenient access later, and then read it in a distraction-free view that keeps you focused on the content.

A new engine: Project Spartan’s new Edge rendering engine is built around the idea that the Web “just works,” while being fast, more secure, and more reliable. As revealed last week, Edge is exclusive to Project Spartan, and IE will remain for legacy purposes.

Today’s update bumps the Windows 10 build number from 10041, released on March 18, to build 10049. The build is “about a week” newer than 10041, and so as you might expect, Project Spartan is the only real new addition, aside from “mostly small improvements and fixes,” Microsoft said.

The update should arrive overnight for Windows 10 preview users via Windows Update (your PC has to be plugged in, and be on or sleeping). If you want to get build 10049 now, head to PC Settings, select “Update and recovery,” then “Preview builds,” and click the “Check Now” button.

If you’re not signed up for the Windows Insider program, register now, check out the system requirements, and then follow the instructions. You can download the ISO in 32-bit and 64-bit flavors from this page (22 language variants).

Microsoft promised to release Windows 10 builds on a more frequent basis, and it has delivered, for PCs. Many are still waiting on the next Windows 10 build for phones, which still hasn’t been updated since the first build arrived on February 12.

Microsoft today announced the general availability of mobile device management (MDM) capabilities for Office 365. The debut means you can now manage access to Office 365 data across Windows Phones, as well as Android and iOS phones and tablets.

In October, Microsoft first revealed its plans to bring built-in MDM capabilities to Office 365. Today the company added that the MDM features are being included at no additional cost in all Office 365 commercial plans, including Business, Enterprise, EDU, and Government.

Because MDM is built right into Office 365, employees can continue using the same productivity apps. Microsoft points out that this is superior to third-party MDM solutions that replace productivity apps with restrictive all-in-one apps for corporate email, calendars, and documents. Administrators can control mobile device policies directly from within the Office 365 administration portal, where they can see which devices are connected to Office 365 and identify those that have been blocked due to non-compliance.

Help secure and manage corporate resources — Set up security policies to ensure that Office 365 corporate email and documents can be accessed only on phones and tablets that are managed by your company and are compliant. Office 365 leverages Microsoft Intune and the Microsoft Azure Active Directory to apply these policies to Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and other business applications.

Device management — Set and manage security policies such as device level pin lock and jailbreak detection to help prevent unauthorized users from accessing corporate email and data on lost or stolen devices.

If these seem familiar to you, that’s because they’re actually a subset of Microsoft Intune capabilities. Integrating them directly into Office 365 simply makes them available more broadly.

Intune, which is part of the Microsoft Enterprise Mobility Suite, offers more device and application management capabilities for PCs, tablets, and phones. This includes the ability to restrict actions such as cut, copy, paste, and save as.

It’s common knowledge that Microsoft has an app problem, both with Windows and Windows Phone. The state of both has been improving steadily for a while now, but developers still largely don’t care anywhere nearly as much as they do about Android or iOS.

Internally, Microsoft has explored various ways of offering Android apps on Windows and Windows Phone, including by way of an emulator (similar to how BlackBerry allows Android apps to run on its devices). The rumor that Android apps will one day run on Windows devices is one that simply refuses to die.

While such a strategy is attractive for many reasons, mainly because it could potentially solve the app quantity problem on Windows quickly, it’s the wrong approach. Microsoft should instead woo Android and iOS developers to use its developer tools, and then deploy their apps to Google Play and/or Apple’s App Store, in addition to the Windows Store.

That way, the company avoids potential performance problems, possible legal issues, and can still ensure apps are built specifically for Windows 10, as opposed to simply getting a flood of apps repurposed from other platforms. The pitch would be quite straightforward: “Use the best developer tools on the planet to build apps that reach the millions of new Windows 10 devices on top of the millions of Android and iOS devices.”

This is not a new strategy. Microsoft has started down this road with Visual Studio’s adoption of Apache Cordova, an open source platform for building multidevice hybrid mobile applications using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. But those are very basic apps.

Microsoft’s next step is to offer tools that could directly compete with Apple’s and Google’s offerings. iOS tools are already quite advanced and Google has finally ramped up its efforts with Android Studio, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t room to wedge in between the two.

It’s no wonder the rumor of Microsoft acquiring Xamarin, which lets developers use C# to build native Android, iOS, Mac, and Windows apps, keeps popping up every few months. When it comes to supporting programming languages for building on non-Microsoft platforms, there’s absolutely no reason why Microsoft should stop at HTML.

Despite its failures in mobile, Redmond is still known for how well it supports developers. And again, the company would be able to make a very unique offer: If you use our tools, you’ll simply be able to reach more users. Instead of developing for just Android, or just iOS, or even just Android and iOS, why not build for Android and Windows 10, or iOS and Windows 10, or all three?

That’s something Apple would never do, and given its disregard for Windows Phone, neither would Google. Despite a multitude of mistakes in mobile, Microsoft still finds itself in a very powerful position: It has the money, resources, and expertise to win over developers. Furthermore, even though Windows Phone is a very distant third to Android and iOS, the Windows Store on Windows 10 will be pushed to millions of users because it will work across PCs, tablets, and smartphones. That’s potentially very enticing for app developers.

In short, Microsoft needs to expand its cross-platform strategy for developers. The perfect time is coming to do exactly that: The company’s Build conference is just a month away.

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]]>0How Microsoft should woo Android and iOS developers to build Windows 10 appsThat Xbox One Fast & Furious game is just Forza with Ludacris talking to youhttp://venturebeat.com/2015/03/28/that-xbox-one-fast-furious-game-is-just-forza-with-ludacris-talking-to-you/
http://venturebeat.com/2015/03/28/that-xbox-one-fast-furious-game-is-just-forza-with-ludacris-talking-to-you/#commentsSat, 28 Mar 2015 15:48:52 +0000http://venturebeat.com/?p=1686928This racer is a fine example of what Forza Horizon 2 has to offer with only a small amount of "Fast & Furious" flair.
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Early this morning, Microsoft released Forza Horizon 2 presents Fast & Furious for Xbox One. It’s a $10 game that you can get for free through April 10. This small racing experience gives players a tiny taste of the open-world action that made Forza Horizon 2 one of the standout releases of 2014, and it combines that with some flavor from the Fast & Furious universe. If you haven’t played Forza Horizon 2 yet, this version of the game is like a decent demo where rapper Ludacris talks to you while you race around.

Watch us play the first 50 minutes of the game in the video below:

Ludacris and a few cars that you may remember from the films are the extent of the Fast & Furious experience that you’re going to get in this game. It is really just a slapped together marketing promotion for Furious 7, which hits theaters next Friday.

You play yourself, a badass racer, who is offered the opportunity to join the Fast & Furious crew as long as you help Ludacris win a series of cars that his team needs. The only way to do that is for you to participate in various competitions. It’s a thin premise, but that’s something you can say about all the Fast films as well as the Horizon series itself.

But, for a free game, it’s a pretty good time. And I actually enjoy Luda’s commentary better than the standard Forza Horizon 2 announcer.

Even if you wait to pay $10, you’ll probably get more of your money’s worth than if Paramount would’ve made some terrible $60 licensed game. And it’s definitely better than those cheesy Fast & Furious mobile apps where all you do is shift gears and steering and gas doesn’t matter. I’ll take this promotional release over that any day.

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]]>0That Xbox One Fast & Furious game is just Forza with Ludacris talking to youMicrosoft acquires and shutters PowerPoint collaboration startup LiveLoop (confirmed)http://venturebeat.com/2015/03/26/microsoft-acquires-and-shutters-powerpoint-collaboration-startup-liveloop/
http://venturebeat.com/2015/03/26/microsoft-acquires-and-shutters-powerpoint-collaboration-startup-liveloop/#commentsThu, 26 Mar 2015 22:57:18 +0000http://venturebeat.com/?p=1686386LiveLoop's service will shut down on April 24.
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Microsoft has acquired LiveLoop, a five-person San Francisco startup that built a web service that lets people share their PowerPoint presentations without forcing people to download software, unlike services such as Join.me, GoToMeeting, and WebEx.

LiveLoop’s service will shut down on April 24, according to a message posted on the startup’s homepage.

One of the startup’s developers, Paul Oppenheim, mentions the acquisition in his resumé, which is live on his personal website.

Microsoft confirmed the deal but wouldn’t disclose terms. A company spokeswoman sent the following email to VentureBeat:

Microsoft is excited to welcome the talented team from LiveLoop to help build great collaboration across Office applications, as part of our strategy and vision to reinvent productivity.

The deal follows a few application-specific acquisitions Microsoft has made recently, including Acompli and Sunrise. The acquisition could bring more interactivity to PowerPoint itself.

LiveLoop started in 2010 and made a presentation at the DEMO conference in fall 2011, of which VentureBeat was a cohost.

“We don’t believe that software-as-a-service (SaaS) needs to be set in a Web browser — products like Google Docs are severely limited in features and performance,” LiveLoop founder Amal Dorai told VentureBeat in a 2011 interview. “Other startups within this space have not built real-time collaboration technology (DocVerse, Offisync, Versly), so their collaboration experience is hampered. We achieve the best of both worlds.”

]]>0Microsoft acquires and shutters PowerPoint collaboration startup LiveLoop (confirmed)Halo Online’s first trailer — the Russia-only PC game is Halo 3 tech with more mapshttp://venturebeat.com/2015/03/26/halo-onlines-first-trailer-the-russia-only-pc-game-is-halo-3-tech-with-more-maps/
http://venturebeat.com/2015/03/26/halo-onlines-first-trailer-the-russia-only-pc-game-is-halo-3-tech-with-more-maps/#commentsThu, 26 Mar 2015 18:15:39 +0000http://venturebeat.com/?p=1686117We can finally see what gamers in Russia are going to get from the Halo series.
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One of Microsoft’s biggest franchises is going free-to-play in Russia, and now we have our first look at the game in action.

The publisher revealed that it is making Halo Online. We explained why Microsoft is making the decision to release the free sci-fi shooter in closed beta exclusively in Russia in a report yesterday. Today, we can see what we’re missing.

Here’s the trailer:

That … actually looks pretty cool.

Microsoft confirmed yesterday that Halo Online is running on Halo 3 technology, and that is obvious from the above clip. It is essentially Halo 3 with a bunch of custom weapons and attachments and maps from throughout the Halo series.

If you’re wondering what the Russian text over the trailer says, Reddit user Q_x went ahead did a translation:

“ЛЕГЕНДАРНЫЙ ШУТЕР, ПОКОРИВШИЙ ВЕСЬ МИР

Legendary shooter, conquer the world

СОЗДАЙ УНИКАЛЬНОГО СПАРТАНЦА

Create a unique Spartan

ВЫБЕРИ ОРИГИНАЛЬНОЕ ОРУЖИЕ И БРОНЮ

Select original weapons and armor

ПОБЕЖДАЙ ЗА СЧЕТ ПРОДУМАННОЙ ТАКТИКИ

Win by considering tactics

ТЕПЕРЬ БЕСПЛАТНО И НА РС

Now free on PC”

If all of this gets you capitalist pigs in America greedy for the chance to play Halo Online yourselves, don’t expect that will happen any time soon. Microsoft has said the beta is exclusive to Russia, but even if it does expand, it will likely first spin Halo Online out to other Eastern European countries as well as China first. These are regions were online PC shooters are thriving. In North America and Western Europe, Microsoft is still gonna want your $60 for Halo 5 instead.

And maybe you noticed that the notification text in the trailer was nearly all in English. For example, you can clearly see “Your team took the lead” 20 seconds into the clip. Again, this doesn’t indicate an immediate Western release. Halo Online’s developer, Saber Interactive, is based in New Jersey. While it has an office in St. Petersburg, the company is likely re-programming the standard Halo 3 engine from English first before doing the translation work.

None of this means that we’ll never get Halo Online. That’s still possible, but there’s no evidence so far to suggest that is happening any time soon.

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]]>0Halo Online’s first trailer — the Russia-only PC game is Halo 3 tech with more mapsXbox One is costing gamers $250M a year, according to environmental grouphttp://venturebeat.com/2015/03/26/xbox-one-is-costing-gamers-250m-a-year-according-to-environmental-agency/
http://venturebeat.com/2015/03/26/xbox-one-is-costing-gamers-250m-a-year-according-to-environmental-agency/#commentsThu, 26 Mar 2015 17:15:24 +0000http://venturebeat.com/?p=1686072Microsoft has already made a change in Europe to help conserve energy, but the NRDC is asking it to do the same in North America.
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If you have your Xbox One in “Instant On” mode, it’s likely adding a significant amount of energy consumption to your electricity bill, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council environmental group. This is because Microsoft wants players to have the ability to turn on their Xbox One system with just their voice. The NRDC points out that each console has problems with energy consumption, but it finds that Microsoft’s box is particularly wasteful in this area. An NRDC study found that these gaming systems can consume around 10 billion to 11 billion kilowatt-hours annually just in the United States, which is enough to provide electricity to every home in Houston for a year.

“Even when it looks like your Xbox One is off, it’s still drawing significant amounts of power continuously waiting for you to say “Xbox on” around-the-clock,” NRDC director and senior scientist Noah Horowitz writes in a blog. “[This includes] when you’re sound asleep or when your video game-loving child is at school.”

Microsoft provided the following statement in response to the NRDC:

“We designed Xbox One from the ground up to maximize computational power per watt,” a Microsoft spokesperson said. “We have a scalable architecture, which means it uses only the computing capacity needed for a task. When it’s ready to respond to ‘Xbox On’ it uses about 12 watts, and in its lowest power state, Xbox One uses a ½-watt. We encourage our fans to visit Xbox Support for written instructions on setting their Xbox One power mode.”

Horowitz goes on to write that the NRDC has repeatedly asked Microsoft to address the “Instant On” feature in the Xbox One, which was a key selling point for the console. It enables you to turn your system on instantly with your voice without having to find the controller or walking up to the box itself. In order to do this, the Xbox One needs to have a constant current of power running through its audio processing core.

“Microsoft refuses to fix this easy-to-solve problem despite repeated requests by our organization,” writes Horowitz. “In the meantime, imagine the energy dollars likely being wasted right now in the more than 7 million Xbox One consoles sold in North America thus far.”

It’s not like Microsoft is completely ignoring this issue. It has managed to reduce the power consumption for “Instant On” from 18 watts to 12.5 watts. But that’s not enough for the NRDC. The environmental group wants Microsoft to make the alternative option to “Instant On” — which completely shuts down the power of the Xbox One and disables the capability to power it on with your voice — the default. Currently, the power-hogging voice-capable mode is the standard when you first boot up the system, and the setup process does not give new owners the chance to switch.

This is exactly the opposite in some other countries.

“Xbox Ones purchased in Europe arrive with the power-wasting ‘Instant On” deactivated by default,” writes Horowitz. “And it presents gamers with the choice of turning on this optional feature during the initial setup if they really want to. That is a much more rational and environmentally responsible approach. And one that Microsoft should adopt worldwide.”

While the NRDC is primarily focused on Microsoft, which it views as the greatest offender, the organization is also keeping an eye on Sony and Nintendo.

Horowitz says that Sony has made some progress with its PlayStation 4. That system, after a recent update, now shuts off the power to its USB ports after the system’s controller is finished charging.

We knew all along that these new consoles would need a lot of power. While the Xbox One has an “Instant On” feature, the PS4 has something similar called “Standby Mode.” This enables the console to download updates and software in the background while mostly turned off.

These are convenience features that many gamers have asked for. And that’s probably why the NRDC is trying to ask the manufacturers to make changes because many gamers would rather have their system ready to go at a moments notice and spend a few extra bucks on their electric bill than have to sit through install screens.

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]]>0Xbox One is costing gamers $250M a year, according to environmental groupMicrosoft has a new secret weapon in its war on Google: ‘Dogfooding’http://venturebeat.com/2015/03/25/microsoft-has-a-new-secret-weapon-in-its-war-on-google-dogfooding/
http://venturebeat.com/2015/03/25/microsoft-has-a-new-secret-weapon-in-its-war-on-google-dogfooding/#commentsThu, 26 Mar 2015 04:00:57 +0000http://venturebeat.com/?post_type=vb_syndicated&p=1685428On Wednesday, Microsoft rolled out a new plan that encourages its resellers to move their own businesses to Office 365.
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The cliche “eat your own dogfood” has become so baked into Silicon Valley’s culture that there’s a one-word term for it: “dogfooding.”

Simply put, it means using the tech you make and/or sell.

And that’s Microsoft’s latest plan to get the world using Office 365, its online version of Microsoft Office and its competitor to Google Apps.

On Wednesday, Microsoft rolled out a new plan that encourages its massive network of resellers to move their own businesses to Office 365. Microsoft struck up an agreement with a company called SkyKick that lets Microsoft’s biggest partners use SkyKick’s transfer tool, Office 365 Migration Suite, for free.

Microsoft partners get to use the Microsoft products they sell for free, including Office 365. But it’s no small task to transfer people’s saved messages, their folders and files, user settings, contacts and so on. SkyKick says that it can take a week to transfer even a small company with 25 employees from regular offline Office to Office 365.

Meanwhile, resellers that use Office 365 themselves are “three times more successful at selling it,” said Gavriella Schuster, general manager of Microsoft’s Worldwide Partner Group.

]]>0Microsoft has a new secret weapon in its war on Google: ‘Dogfooding’Why Halo is going free-to-play on PC in Russiahttp://venturebeat.com/2015/03/25/why-halo-is-going-free-to-play-on-pc-in-russia/
http://venturebeat.com/2015/03/25/why-halo-is-going-free-to-play-on-pc-in-russia/#commentsWed, 25 Mar 2015 22:05:57 +0000http://venturebeat.com/?p=1685550Russia is leading a huge growth in game spending in Eastern Europe, and Microsoft is going right after that money.
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343 Industries, the developer that runs the Halo franchise for Microsoft, announced today that it’s launching a new entry in the franchise specifically for PC. Called Halo Online, this new take on the sci-fi shooter is a free-to-play game that will launch in an early testing phase this spring exclusively in Russia. Developer Saber Interactive and information-technology company InnovaSystems will build and operate the games as a service.

This new Halo will introduce one of the most popular console games to one of the largest PC gaming markets in the world. Russian gamers spend about $1.5 billion on online games like World of Tanks, and Microsoft thinks that it could capture some of that market with this new Halo.

“Halo Online is powered by a highly modified version of the Halo 3 engine and optimized for smooth performance on lower-end PCs,” reads a 343 blog. “[It] is a learning opportunity for us as we explore ways to welcome new fans to the Halo universe. We’re excited to release a Halo multiplayer-only PC experience tailored for Russian gamers.”

This move is reminiscent of publisher Activision’s plans with Call of Duty Online. That China-only game (it’s in open beta now) first debuted as a closed beta back in January 2013. It combines several different multiplayer maps and modes from the various console and PC releases into one free-to-play product. That has not stopped Activision from releasing a new, $60 blockbuster Call of Duty annually for console and PC players around the world.

But Russia and China are not great markets for $60 blockbuster games for consoles. For one, both have very active pirating scenes. This has trained many in these markets to expect to pay little or nothing at all for their digital entertainment. Second, PC free-to-play games have already taken over the zeitgeist in these regions.

In a list of the top-grossing PC games in the world, the Chinese megapopular shooter Crossfire is usually No. 1 or No. 2 on the list. It has brought in more than $1 billion each of the last two years. World of Tanks, most popular in Russia and throughout Eastern Europe, makes around $500 million.

And bringing Halo Online to Russia first is key. If it finds an audience in that region, it will likely filter out to other key Eastern European territories, like Ukraine, Poland, and Romania.

While Russia is by far the largest gaming superpower in the region, with around $1.5 billion in spending last year. Those other countries are also growing in importance. Polish gamers spent around $280 million, Romanians generated $122 million, and Ukranians bought about $118 million in game-related goods and items, according to research firm Newzoo.

Overall, spending in Eastern Europe grew 7 percent from 2013 to 2014. Again, Russia and its satellite nations make up about 80 percent of that by themselves, according to intelligence firm SuperData Research.

With that level of growth, and with few other companies the size of Microsoft going directly after Russia and Eastern Europe, Halo Online stands a pretty decent chance of finding success.

Fans of Minecraft will once again gather in one place to celebrate the brick-building phenomenon. Only this is the first time Microsoft will attend as the new owner of the block-building blockbuster.

Minecon, the Minecraft convention, takes place at London’s ExCel Convention Center July 4 and July 5, and Microsoft is promising not to screw it up. The Xbox company is obviously invested in keeping Minecraft fans happy, and that extends to ensuring the convention is still a great time for all attendees. We asked Microsoft if it had any plans to change Minecon now that it’s writing the checks, and it confirmed that it’s going to let Mojang do its thing.

“Mojang is running Minecon 2015 in the same manner as their past events,” a Microsoft spokesperson told GamesBeat. “We’re playing a supporting role; we want to listen, learn, and be inspired by the community that has made Minecraft great.”

The news that Minecon is back is something of a relief for megafans of the game who were worried that things might change with Microsoft in charge. In September, Microsoft purchased Minecraft and developer Mojang for $2.5 billion. The company promised to continue supporting the game in all of its versions, but fans still worried.

But so far, Microsoft has held true to its word. The PlayStation version of Minecraft, on Sony’s competing platform, got new downloadable content today.

Keeping Minecraft fans happy — even if they’re on PlayStation — is incredibly important to Microsoft. The game is one of the most played in the world, and it is especially popular among young people. Many consider it Super Mario Bros. for the generation that is growing up now, and the franchise could serve as the backbone of Microsoft’s gaming strategy for the next decade and beyond.

Minecon is one of the places that strategy will take shape.

As with previous the previous official Minecraft conventions, this event will last for two days. It features panels, exhibitions, and other attractions for fans.

“It’s a great place to meet and greet fellow Minecrafters and some high-profile YouTubers as well as your favorite Mojangstas,” said Microsoft’s spokesperson. “Mojang is planning some new surprises, but attendees can expect the same great experience and authentic Minecon experience as past events.”

It’s important Microsoft not to disturb Minecraft, Mojang, or Minecon. The company didn’t spend $2.5 billion just to muck things up. It wants the magic the franchise has created so far to continue for years.

That means that Microsoft will help out with things when asked by Mojang, but it does not plan to interject itself where it is not needed.

“We’re extremely thankful for our passionate community of players, builders, and content creators who have made Minecraft the global phenomenon it is today,” Microsoft’s spokesperson continued. “It was important to us to help where needed but let Mojang carry on the tradition of Minecon as a meaningful celebration of the Minecraft community.”

Finally, Microsoft said it never hesitated to permit a new Minecon. It knew that was part of what it was buying. Microsoft has never really had a regular gaming convention for any of its other properties before, so this is something that it could build on for the future.

Microsoft announced a major change to its browser strategy today: Only Project Spartan, the company’s new browser shipping on all Windows 10 devices (smartphones, tablets, PCs, and so on), will feature the company’s new rendering engine. Internet Explorer will still ship with Windows 10, but Microsoft says it “will remain fundamentally unchanged from Windows 8.1″ and will use the legacy engine exclusively.

This is a big adjustment following the browser’s announcement in January, when Microsoft laid out plans to use the new rendering engine to power both Project Spartan and Internet Explorer on Windows 10. Both browsers were supposed to be able to switch back to IE’s old Trident rendering engine when they encountered legacy technologies or certain enterprise sites.

This may be a bit confusing to Windows Insiders, the official name for Windows 10 testers, since IE currently features the new rendering engine in the latest Windows 10 builds (it can be activated via the “Enable experimental web platform features” setting in about:flags). That will be changing with the next build, however, when Project Spartan is finally expected to be made available for testing.

Microsoft explained that it was forced to reconsider its strategy for three main reasons:

Project Spartan was built for the next generation of the Web, taking the unique opportunity provided by Windows 10 to build a browser with a modern architecture and service model for Windows as a Service. This clean separation of legacy and new will enable us to deliver on that promise. Our testing with Project Spartan has shown that it is on track to be highly compatible with the modern Web, which means the legacy engine isn’t needed for compatibility.

For Internet Explorer 11 on Windows 10 to be an effective solution for legacy scenarios and enterprise customers, it needs to behave consistently with Internet Explorer 11 on Windows 7 and Windows 8.1. Hosting our new engine in Internet Explorer 11 has compatibility implications that impact this promise and would have made the browser behave differently on Windows 10.

Feedback from Insiders and developers indicated that it wasn’t clear what the difference was between Project Spartan and Internet Explorer 11 from a web capabilities perspective, or what a developer would need to do to deliver web sites for one versus the other.

In other words, the company was overcomplicating the situation. Shipping two browsers in Windows 10 will already be confusing for many users, and because IE is aimed at just enterprises (something Microsoft confirmed in January), there’s no reason that Project Spartan should duplicate any of its functionality. Furthermore, ensuring IE does not have access to the new rendering engine means that users will be less likely to use the browser (since it will work properly with fewer and fewer sites), which is exactly what Microsoft wants.

As the company explained, this simplifies the role of each browser in Windows 10. Project Spartan will be the default browser for all Windows 10 devices, with a focus on giving developers a proper experience (no document modes or compatibility views) and offering consumers unique features like the ability to annotate on web pages, distraction-free reading, and Cortana integration. Internet Explorer will be strictly for any legacy scenarios that may occur, and enterprises with a large numbers of sites that rely on old technologies can choose to make IE11 the default browser via group policy.

A new Windows 10 build with Project Spartan is expected to arrive sometime in April. At that point, Microsoft said, the new rendering engine will be removed from IE.

More information:

More information:

]]>0Only Project Spartan will use the new rendering engine on Windows 10, IE to ‘remain fundamentally unchanged’Microsoft launches Azure App Service for building websites and mobile appshttp://venturebeat.com/2015/03/24/microsoft-azure-app-service/
http://venturebeat.com/2015/03/24/microsoft-azure-app-service/#commentsTue, 24 Mar 2015 13:00:13 +0000http://venturebeat.com/?p=1683675The idea is to provide one place to go in the cloud to build and run cross-device applications, and populate them with data from multiple existing applications.
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Microsoft today is revealing Azure App Service, a new cloud service that bundles together several existing ones: Azure Websites, Azure Mobile Services, and Azure BizTalk Services. The idea is to give developers one place to go in the cloud when they want to build and run cross-device applications and then populate them with data from multiple existing applications.

Azure App Service joins an extensive lineup of cloud services available from Microsoft Azure, a public cloud that competes against Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud Platform, among others. The unification of services could simplify application and deployment for developers — there might well be one fewer service to pay for every month.

At the very least, it does make sense to have a single service for running various types of applications.

“Developers are trying to build web and mobile apps from the same app back-end,” Omar Khan, partner director of program management at Microsoft, told VentureBeat in an interview.

Microsoft is making changes to some of the services the new App Service draws on.

Microsoft will continue to operate Azure Mobile Services for an interim period so customers can move their applications over to Azure App Service, Khan said. And websites running in Azure Websites will be shifted over to App Service, too, without any work on the part of customers, Khan said.

Azure BizTalk Services — the cloud-based implementation of the popular BizTalk Server software for enterprise application integration that competes with the likes of venture-backed company MuleSoft, for one — will remain available as a standalone service in the future, Khan said. In addition, Azure App Service will allow customers to manage application programming interface (API) applications to connect their applications with external services like Oracle’s Siebel software or Microsoft’s own Office 365 software suite.

As for pricing, there’s a nice change in store for customers.

“We’re basically offering App Service at the same pricing Azure Websites has today, but including capabilities of the other services at that price,” Khan said.

Microsoft today launched developer tools for the Windows 10 Technical Preview, including a software development kit (SDK). Developers can use the new tools, currently in preview, to start building universal Windows apps for Microsoft’s upcoming operating system.

A universal Windows app is Microsoft’s verbiage for an app that can run across different form factors, including PCs, tablets, and phones. Developers can publish these apps in the Windows Store, which will be available across all types of Windows 10 devices.

Install the tools; both Visual Studio 2015 CTP6 and the Tools for Windows 10 Technical Preview, which includes the SDK, are required when developing for the Windows Universal App Platform. (To install the .iso file, download the files, right-click the local copy, and then select Mount.)

In addition to software, Microsoft has also released hardware tools. These allow hardware developers to build, test, and deploy drivers so they can customize, assess, and deploy Windows 10 on their hardware.

Microsoft highlighted three key aspects for developers in this preview:

Adaptive UX: Windows 10 provides the ability to use a single UI that can adapt from small to large screens. For developers with an existing Windows 8.1 app, you can quickly try this one out by (a) removing one of your UI projects (and going from three Visual Studio projects to one!) and (b) add the improved ViewStateManager to control how your UI adapts at runtime.

User controls: A number of our Windows 10 UI controls will determine, at runtime, how the customer is interacting with your app and render the appropriate user experience (e.g. on a laptop with a touch-screen, an app fly-out control will provide larger touch-targets if tapped with touch, as opposed to clicked with a mouse).

API contracts: With Windows 10, you can directly verify if a Windows feature is available rather than inferring based on the operating system version. This lets you start checking, at runtime, if a Windows feature is available on the device before you call a related API. A good API contract for you to try out in your code to see this in action is HardwareButtons, which is present on phones (via the Mobile Extensions SDK), and thus available on the phone and mobile emulator but not available on the desktop.

Again, these tools are not final: This is merely the first release for developers. You can expect that the SDK and accompanying software will continue to get updates as we get closer to Windows 10’s release this summer.

Microsoft today announced partnerships with 11 hardware makers to preinstall its apps on select Android devices that will ship “later this year.” The deals encompass Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote), OneDrive, and Skype.

While all six of these Android apps are already free and can be downloaded by anyone with an Android device that includes Google Play, this is nonetheless a massive boon for Microsoft and its ecosystem. Furthermore, it once again underlines how much the company is dedicating to pushing its software and services cross-platform.

We don’t know which devices all these deals apply to, but this is to be expected since they will be shipping later in 2015. Most, if not all, haven’t yet been announced.

The biggest name here is naturally Samsung, though we already learned at Mobile World Congress 2015 that the Korean company would preinstall OneNote, OneDrive, and Skype on its new Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 edge smartphones. Yet today’s news goes further: Samsung also plans to preinstall the aforementioned six Microsoft apps on select Android tablets “in the first half of 2015.”

In related news, Samsung is also planning on releasing a new Microsoft Office 365 and Samsung KNOX Business Pack. Businesses that purchase devices through Samsung’s business-to-business sales channels will have access to three versions of Office 365 (Business, Business Premium, and Enterprise) coupled with Samsung’s KNOX security solution.

“Great things happen when you converge services and devices,” Peggy Johnson, Microsoft’s executive vice president of business development, said in a statement. “Our partnership with Samsung is emblematic of our efforts to bring the best of Microsoft’s productivity services to everyone, on every device — so people can be productive wherever, however and whenever they want.”

One major app seems to be missing from all of these announcements, despite the fact it is part of the Office suite: Outlook. This is likely because Outlook for Android is still in preview; we’ve reached out to Microsoft for confirmation, and we’ll update you if we hear back.

Update: Confirmed. “Outlook for Android is not included in today’s agreements because the app is still in preview,” a Microsoft spokesperson told VentureBeat. “The teams will continue to evaluate new opportunities as they arise.”

When Microsoft confirmed it will offer free Windows 10 upgrades to pirates worldwide, many were shocked. VentureBeat has been trying to get more details from the company, which disclosed today that after PCs with pirated copies of Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 are upgraded to Windows 10, they will remain in a “non-genuine” status and Microsoft will not support them.

“With Windows 10, although non-genuine PCs may be able to upgrade to Windows 10, the upgrade will not change the genuine state of the license,” a Microsoft spokesperson told VentureBeat. “Non-genuine Windows is not published by Microsoft. It is not properly licensed or supported by Microsoft or a trusted partner. If a device was considered non-genuine or mislicensed prior to the upgrade, that device will continue to be considered non-genuine or mislicensed after the upgrade. According to industry experts, use of pirated software, including Non-genuine Windows, results in a higher risk of malware, fraud — identity theft, credit card theft, etc. — public exposure of your personal information, and a higher risk for poor performance or feature malfunctions.”

Yet this doesn’t provide enough answers. After a pirate upgrades to Windows 10 for free, does this “non-genuine” version expire and become unusable after a certain period of time? Does no support mean no security updates for pirates?

Microsoft declined to answer both these questions. The company did, however, explain that it will have a system in place to get these pirates to address their “non-genuine” status.

“We will provide a mechanism for non-genuine Windows 10 PC devices to ‘get genuine’ via the new Windows Store, whether they are upgraded versions of Windows or purchased,” a Micrososft spokesperson told VentureBeat. “We will have details on this as we get closer to launch.”

It’s worth looking at how existing Windows versions expire when they’re in non-genuine status. The Genuine Windows FAQ says the following happens after 30 days:

Until you correct the issue, you’ll receive periodic reminders that Windows is not genuine. In addition, to more clearly display these messages, your desktop might turn black. You can reset it, but every 60 minutes, it will return to black until the issue is resolved.

This is called Reduced Functional mode, and it basically means your computer turns off every hour. Microsoft will, however, let you squeeze in security updates during this limited time frame:

Regardless of genuine status, you’ll still be able to get critical security updates. However, if your copy of Windows isn’t genuine, you won’t be able to install many updates that are exclusively for genuine Windows customers, including Microsoft Security Essentials. Microsoft strongly recommends that you get genuine Microsoft software immediately to help ensure a safer computing experience.

In short, Windows eventually becomes unusable (unless you are perfectly happy with using your computer in less than 60 minute increments), though it will continue to get security updates. This only applies to the latest versions of Microsoft’s operating system (Windows Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8.x).

Windows 10 could end up behaving differently in terms of expiry and security updates. Microsoft has experimented with various solutions over the years, and while the company is clearly interested in a different approach, it isn’t yet ready to share everything.

The direction Microsoft chooses to go will not just affect its bottom line and pirates but other Windows 10 users as well. Getting more users onto the latest operating system is great, but it’s useless if they’re not getting security updates. This is something Microsoft has struggled with for years, and the company underlines the problems at the end of the first statement above: “Use of pirated software, including non-genuine Windows, results in a higher risk of malware, fraud — identity theft, credit card theft, etc. — public exposure of your personal information, and a higher risk for poor performance or feature malfunctions.”

Piracy hurts the Windows ecosystem as a whole. Yet the decision is not a simple one.

If Microsoft gives pirates a free upgrade with no strings attached, like it is doing for genuine Windows 7 and Windows 8.x users, it will likely face some backlash from paying customers. But if Microsoft locks pirates out of a critical part of Windows 10, they will simply revert to circumventing the “non-genuine” status, just like with previous versions of Windows.

When Microsoft announced plans yesterday to launch Windows 10 this summer in 190 countries, the company also revealed plans to test Windows 10 on Xiaomi’s Mi 4 devices, which ship with Google’s Android. Details were scarce, however, as Microsoft only shared two sentences about the experimental program — Chinese electronics company Xiaomi today offered more details.

For reference, here is what Microsoft originally communicated:

Through a new program with Xiaomi, one of the top smartphone distributors in the world, a select group of Xiaomi Mi 4 power users will be invited to help test Windows 10 and contribute to its future release later this year. These power users will have the opportunity to download the Windows 10 Technical Preview — installing it and providing their feedback to Microsoft.

Hugo Barra, vice president of international for Xiaomi (and previously vice president and product spokesman of Google’s Android division), has explained that Microsoft is developing a custom build of Windows 10 Technical Preview specifically for Mi 4 phones, deployment of which is made easier since they ship with an unlocked bootloader. Barra also emphasized that this is an experimental program led by Microsoft and has no effect on Xiaomi’s Android efforts.

The custom build will be offered to a “small number” of Mi 4 power users from the Xiaomi Forum in China. Mi 4 owners who choose to participate in this experimental program will have to manually re-flash their devices with this Windows 10 ROM, just like they would re-flash other Android ROMs (this runs contrary to rumors that Microsoft will offer a tool that somehow “converts” Android to Windows).

This means the Windows 10 build will not run on top of Android, but will replace it completely. Also, for those hoping for a dual-boot option that allows switching between Microsoft’s and Google’s operating systems, you’re out of luck.

Here are Barra’s four points, quoted in full:

This is an experimental program led by Microsoft, working directly with the Mi fan community in China.

Microsoft is working on a build of Windows 10 specifically for Mi 4 devices. This Windows 10 build will not be running on top of Android nor be available as a dual-boot option. A small number of Mi 4 power users from the Xiaomi Forum in China who choose to take part in this experimental program will have to manually re-flash their Mi 4 devices with this Windows 10 ROM, in the same way they would re-flash other Android ROMs.

At Xiaomi, we are very supportive of users trying new things and we encourage them to do so all the time! That’s why all of our devices ship with unlocked bootloader, for example. That’s also why Xiaomi welcomes Microsoft team members to interact directly with members of the Xiaomi Forum in China. More details will be announced by Microsoft in the coming months. This program will only be available in China.

Xiaomi continues to fully embrace the Android ecosystem through our MIUI software platform and we’re moving ahead full steam building many exciting new Android-based features and services.

In short, Xiaomi is perfectly happy working with Microsoft to let its users try out Windows 10. The agreement doesn’t suggest, however, that any of its existing operations will be changing.

It’s naturally possible that the Windows 10 experiment is a huge success and Xiaomi becomes interested in shipping devices with Microsoft’s upcoming operating system. For now, though, nothing of the sort is in the works.

The new low-cost phone is part of Microsoft’s broader strategy to go after first-time smartphone buyers, particularly in emerging markets. In this case, the Lumia 430 will be available in April in Asia-Pacific countries, India, Africa, the Middle East, Russia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, and Belarus.

Microsoft knows well that Windows Phone risks falling into irrelevance, as Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android have seized about 95 percent of all market share.

In an interview at Barcelona Mobile World Congress earlier this month, Chris Weber, Microsoft’s corporate vice president of mobile device sales, said the company believes one of its biggest opportunities at the moment is going after Android users.

Weber said Microsoft’s research indicates users of Android are far less loyal than Apple users. The complaints Microsoft says it hears are many of the same ones that Apple likes to point out. Devices are widely fragmented between different versions of Android. Apps work better on some versions of Android, and some form factors, than others. And then there are security issues.

The new Lumia, with a $70 price tag, is aimed squarely at this market. The phone runs on Windows 8.1 but will be eligible for a free upgrade to Windows 10 later this year.

“We need to continue to push price points even lower,” he told VentureBeat in Barcelona. “But it’s not so we can say we have the lowest prices. I want to position us as the best value. These are still no-compromise devices.”

As part of Microsoft’s overall value pitch, it notes that the Lumia 430 naturally comes with Skype, but there’s also 30GB of free OneDrive cloud storage. And the dual SIM is meant to be attractive to travelers.

As for other specs: There’s 8GB of storage, a dual-core 1.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, a 4-inch display, and 1GB of RAM.

If you owned an Xbox 360, you also had a good chance of eventually owning a broken Xbox 360. And now, Microsoft may have to pay.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has reinstated a class-action lawsuit against Microsoft that alleges the Xbox 360 shipped with a defect that damaged game discs (via Reuters). This is a reversal of a lower-court decision that struck down the complaint. Microsoft has denied these claims, but it was widely reported that the 360 could easily scratch or gouge a disc if system was moved in any way while turned on. But the complaint says that the Xbox 360 could potentially damage a disc even after the smallest vibration, which is sometimes unavoidable. Keep in mind this is different from the infamous Red Ring of Death issue, which was an entirely different defect that plagued the 360.

We’ve reached out to Microsoft, and we’ll update this report with its statement.

The company’s defense so far is that this case is not eligible for a class-wide suit since it claims that less than a half of 1 percent of Xbox 360 owners reported a problem. It also claims that consumer misuse is the true culprit.

It was the lack of customer complaints that convinced U.S. District Judge Ricardo Matinez in Seattle to throw out the class-action suit in the first place. But the 9th Court found that this was a misapplication of previous precedent.

Circuit Judge Johnnie Rawlinson wrote the following as part of the court’s decision:

“Plaintiffs’ breach of express warranty claim presents a common factual question — is there a defect? — and a common mixed question of law and fact — does that defect breach the express warranty? The district court erred in finding that individual issues of causation predominate over these common questions.”

Put plainly, if the defect exists (even if few people complained), the case then has merit.

The case now returns to Martinez in the U.S. District Court in Seattle.

“We’ve won in the lower court previously and believe the facts are on our side,” a Microsoft spokesperson told Reuters.

Microsoft launched a new Windows 10 preview today for PCs. The release includes improvements to the Start experience and virtual desktops, Cortana in six new countries, and a promise to release new builds more often.

Microsoft has finally addressed complaints that new builds are coming infrequently despite the company previously promising to release more rapidly. That said, the company did so in a roundabout way: “We heard feedback from you that some wanted less frequent but more stable builds, while others preferred faster builds even if they had more bugs” was followed by “we’ve been doing work internally to be able to push builds to the Fast ring more frequently.”

Today’s update bumps the build number from 9926, released on January 13, to build 10041. It was compiled on Friday, meaning it’s coming to testers just five days later. “You’re getting it less than 48 hours after the majority of our engineers in the Operating Systems Group receive it,” Microsoft said.

If you’re wondering, this is likely why Microsoft doesn’t refer to this preview as the March build. The company failed to release builds on a monthly basis, but now it wants to release more frequently than that. “We will still have regular periods where we’re integrating new code that needs to spend time stabilizing, so we’ll have some weeks where we expect builds to flow out (we call them ‘flighting windows’) and some where we’ll hold back,” Microsoft explained.

The update should arrive overnight for Windows 10 preview users via Windows Update (your PC has to be plugged in, and be on or sleeping). If you want to get build 10041 now, head to PC Settings, select “Update and recovery,” then “Preview builds,” and click the “Check Now” button.

If you’re not signed up for the Windows Insider program, register now, check out the system requirements, and then follow the instructions. You can download the ISO in 32-bit and 64-bit flavors from this page (22 language variants).

You can expect the following additions in this build:

Improving the Start experience: Start now has transparency and the All Apps button should be easier to use with touch. Dragging and dropping apps from All Apps or your most used apps list to pin them to Start (a top request) has been added.

Improvements to Virtual Desktops: The #1 feature request, dragging a window to a virtual desktop, has been implemented. You can also now drag a window to the “+” icon to both create a virtual desktop and move the window to it in single step. A filtered taskbar and a filtered Alt+Tab view is also now available: only the running windows in a particular virtual desktop are shown. Microsoft hasn’t decided yet if this will be the default behavior.

Cortana is expanding into new markets on the desktop: in addition to the U.S., Cortana now works in China, the U.K., France, Italy, Germany, and Spain. Currently, the virtual assistant can help you search for apps, settings, and files as well as search the web in these seven countries.

New network fly-out from the taskbar: this new network settings option now appears when you click on the network icon (for easily connecting to wireless networks). Microsoft says the user experience “isn’t complete just yet.”

Enhancements to the Photos app: The updated Live Tile for the Photos app now includes your photos on OneDrive (previously it only showed local photos). In addition to performance and reliability improvements, the app now supports RAW format files and keyboard shortcuts (try using the tab, arrow keys, and page up/down).

New Text Input Canvas: There is now an updated experience for handwriting panel recognition, optimized for short text entry. It provides recognition candidates, suggestions, and next word predictions.

Experimenting with the Lock screen: The Lock screen now shares some “did you knows” as well as tips and tricks to help people learn Windows 10. These are coming to the U.S. and France first. If you don’t set a background, you’ll get a rotation of imagery (much like Bing’s homepage).

Those are some of the big new features worth highlighting. Microsoft has also listed some fixes it has made based on tester feedback:

In 9926 there were several issues which prevented Start from launching, these should all be fixed.

Search box now works if you have taskbar on the top/side of your screen.

After installing the last build (9926), you saw a boot selection menu when you rebooted your PC. This is fixed and you should no longer see the boot selection menu – unless you’re intentionally dual-booting.

People seeing persistent grey thumbnails in the Collection view in the Photos app should no longer see this bug.

Now we wait for the next Windows 10 build for phones. The last release was on February 12, and testers are still waiting to try something new.

More information:

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]]>0Microsoft releases new Windows 10 preview with Start and virtual desktop tweaks, Cortana in 6 new countriesXbox Music now lets you play music stored on OneDrivehttp://venturebeat.com/2015/03/18/xbox-music-now-lets-you-play-music-stored-on-onedrive/
http://venturebeat.com/2015/03/18/xbox-music-now-lets-you-play-music-stored-on-onedrive/#commentsWed, 18 Mar 2015 18:14:24 +0000http://venturebeat.com/?p=1681762Microsoft wants you to access all your songs from Xbox Music.
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Any music files you upload to the new “Music” folder in OneDrive automatically appear in the Xbox Music app on all of your Windows and Xbox devices. This includes any PC running Windows 8.1, any smartphone running Windows Phone 8.1, and your Xbox 360 and Xbox One.

If you don’t want to use Xbox Music, you can stream music directly from OneDrive’s website. For those that prefer native apps, Xbox Music is the way to go.

This functionality is available only in the following countries: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the U.K., and the U.S.

Microsoft is also trying to encourage the use of Xbox Music Pass, which costs $10 per month. The company is offering users an extra 100GB of OneDrive storage for free if they sign up for the subscription service.

Having all of your music in OneDrive, regardless of where it came from originally, means you can listen to everything whether you’re at home or on the go. Best of all, you can create playlists from both sources (music uploaded to OneDrive and music from the Xbox Music Pass) that work on all of your devices.

Microsoft admits to one shortcoming: Windows Phone users who have never used the Xbox Live service will have to sign up for a free Xbox Live account in order to have their music from OneDrive show up in the Xbox Music app for Windows Phone 8.1. “We recognize this experience isn’t ideal and are working on a fix to make it better,” the company said.

This new feature is similar to Apple’s iTunes Match and Google’s Play Music, though it’s unique in that Microsoft’s solution is spread across two different services. That may be a bit confusing to some users, especially given all the branding changes Xbox Music and OneDrive have gone through over the years.

More information:

More information:

]]>0Xbox Music now lets you play music stored on OneDriveSlack launches desktop app for Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 10http://venturebeat.com/2015/03/18/slack-launches-desktop-app-for-windows-7-windows-8-and-windows-10/
http://venturebeat.com/2015/03/18/slack-launches-desktop-app-for-windows-7-windows-8-and-windows-10/#commentsWed, 18 Mar 2015 18:10:06 +0000http://venturebeat.com/?p=1681751Until this point, people running Windows could use Slack in the browser.
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Slack today announced the availability of its team-communication app for the Windows operating system.

The well funded company announced the news in a blog post this morning.

Until this point, people running Windows could use Slack in the browser.

Now you can check out information on leads and current customers from Salesforce right from within your Microsoft inbox.

The new capability is coming to Outlook 2013, Office 365, Outlook for Mac, and the Outlook Web App as part of the new Salesforce App for Outlook, Microsoft’s Outlook team announced in a blog post today.

“Even better, it’s 100 percent cloud based with nothing to install!” Ryan Aytay, senior vice president of product management at the Salesforce for Microsoft division of Salesforce, wrote in a blog post of his own on the news.

It’s the latest interesting move for the two companies to make as part of their ongoing collaboration. Microsoft competes with Salesforce in the customer relationship management software business for managing sales leads, so it’s a bit surprising.

In January, we learned that for one year, Microsoft would offer free Windows 10 upgrades to those running Windows 7, Windows 8.1, and Windows Phone 8.1. Today, at its Windows Hardware Engineering Community (WinHEC) event in Shenzen, the company revealed that this deal will be available to pirates worldwide.

Reuters first broke the news by quoting Terry Myerson, Microsoft’s Windows chief: “We are upgrading all qualified PCs, genuine and non-genuine, to Windows 10.” Yet the article’s headline and body focused on China, where Windows piracy rates are particularly high, so we reached out to Microsoft to confirm the scope.

“Anyone with a qualified device can upgrade to Windows 10, including those with pirated copies of Windows,” a Microsoft spokesperson told VentureBeat. “We believe customers over time will realize the value of properly licensing Windows, and we will make it easy for them to move to legitimate copies.”

We further asked to make sure that the announcement means the following is technically possible: During this one-year period after Windows 10’s launch, anyone can pirate Windows 7 or Windows 8.x and then upgrade to Windows 10 for free. “Correct; anyone in the world with a qualified device can upgrade a pirated copy of Windows to Windows 10,” the Microsoft spokesperson confirmed to VentureBeat.

This is huge. It shows just how dedicated Microsoft is to getting as many users as possible onto its latest and greatest operating system. The move also underlines the company is ready to move away from generating revenue from its Windows business.

The decision will likely translate into the fastest market share growth for a new operating system. We’re willing to bet Windows 10 will become the most popular operating system before 2015 is over.

The fact Microsoft wants to fight piracy with free upgrades is by far the biggest news. Regardless of when a new version of Windows will be available, and what is necessary to run it, pirates tend to be the first to upgrade. This time around, though, Microsoft is giving them its blessing.

Skype for Business will offer enterprise voice in Office 365 with PSTN calling and conferencing. The functionality will first become available as a technical preview in the U.S. this summer.

Office 365 users will thus be able to leverage Skype for all their written, audio, and video conversations. “The Office 365 Skype for Business voice and video services are based on an intelligent real time network, spanning Microsoft’s global data centers, to deliver secure, high quality voice and video traffic at the speed of light across the globe,” Microsoft explained.

In other words, Microsoft is looking to enhance its cloud offering with real-time communications; Skype for Business will be available via Office 365 data centers in 37 countries. Cloud plus on-premises hybrid options will let enterprises rely on Microsoft’s cloud when they need it without having to give up what they already manage on-premises.

Microsoft has partnered with AT&T, BT, Colt, Equinix, Level3 Communications, Orange Business Services, TATA Communications, Telstra, Verizon, and Vodafone. These companies will help deliver direct connections to Office 365 Skype for Business customers through Azure ExpressRoute for Office 365.

Next up, Microsoft is also hoping to push “a rich portfolio” of meeting devices specifically built for, and integrated with, Skype for Business. Called Skype Room Systems, which all Lync Rooms Systems devices can upgrade to, the push will deliver the Skype for Business experience to the broader business market, which the company estimates at more than 50 million meeting spaces worldwide.

Microsoft’s partners Crestron, Polycom, and Smart will release a range of Skype Room Systems devices, which will be built on a platform based on Windows 10. These new products will be available for customers “in the Windows 10 timeframe” (translation: this summer or a bit later).

The Polycom partnership is worth expanding on, since the company has already announced a new series called Polycom RoundTable. These devices will be built specifically for Skype for Business; the RoundTable 100 will be the first, designed for small-to-midsize businesses and teams, and offered for around $1,000.

The video devices in the Polycom CX series of products (CX 5100, CX 5500, and CX 8000) will also become part of the Polycom RoundTable series of products. Polycom’s VVX business media phones will be the first phones to support PSTN calling in Office 365.

Partners aside, Microsoft is working on making sure Microsoft Surface Hub works with Skype for Business. This 84-inch 4K display doesn’t have a price tag yet, but given that it is designed specifically for meetings, it’s no surprise it will handle everything the Lync replacement brings to the meeting table.

Before you can upgrade to Windows 10, you’ll need to know if your device can handle the new OS. You should also be aware of your available options for the upgrade process (as always, wiping everything and installing Windows 10 from scratch is your safest bet).

Hardware requirements

The presentation “Minimum System HW Requirements & Compatibility for Windows Platforms” (PPTX) details what is needed to run Windows 10 on both desktop and mobile. It doesn’t disclose everything you need to know, but screen size, memory, storage, graphics, and firmware are all mentioned.

Here are the desktop requirements:

This is clearly aimed at computer makers. It’s thus worth adding that the Windows 10 technical preview has these requirements:

Processor: 1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster

RAM: 1 gigabyte (GB) (32-bit) or 2 GB (64-bit)

Free hard disk space: 16 GB

Graphics card: Microsoft DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM driver

A Microsoft account and Internet access

Here are the mobile requirements:

Everything seems to be very similar to what we’ve seen in Windows Phone releases. Apparently a phone with a screen less than 3 inches just won’t cut it.

The optional components for both desktop and mobile are also worth highlighting (phones have stricter guidelines than PCs):

By and large, Microsoft is keeping the same requirements as previous Windows releases. The phone details are arguably more interesting given that the preview is currently limited to just six devices.

Upgrade paths

The presentation “Upgrading to Windows 10″ (PPTX) details how Microsoft will deliver Windows 10 for both desktop and mobile. The general rule of thumb is that that the later Windows version you have, the smoother your upgrade path will be.

Here are the possible paths on desktop and mobile:

Windows 7 SP1, Windows 8.1 with the latest updates, and Windows Phone 8.1 can all be upgraded via Windows Update. All Windows 7 and Windows 8.x versions can be upgraded by using an ISO image. Windows RT doesn’t have an upgrade path, though Microsoft has said before that it is planning some sort of update for the almost-dead OS.

Windows 10 will also streamline the update process across desktop and mobile. This should mean faster and more frequent updates across the board.

Last but not least, Microsoft is aiming to get Windows 10 on phones within four to six weeks. Given how carriers typically treat updates, that’s quite a lofty goal.

Official details

The above is unlikely to change, though Microsoft will post even more information once Windows 10 is final and ready for public use. That said, the above should cover almost everything you need to know.

Also today, Microsoft announced several partnerships in the Windows 10 launch. Lenovo, Qihu 360, and Tencent are on board, according to today’s statement. The companies will be providing free upgrades to consumers.

Xiaomi will also give some Xiaomi Mi 4 smartphone users an opportunity to test out the new operating system, Microsoft said.

Microsoft today announced that biometric authentication is coming to Windows 10. Windows Hello will let you unlock your Windows 10 device, whether it be a PC, tablet, or a smartphone, with your finger, iris, or face. Microsoft Passport will take this further by letting you access apps and online services without a password.

In other words, this is a long-term play. Microsoft is well aware that many Windows 10 devices will be built to be sold for as little as possible, and Windows Hello simply won’t be available.

Nevertheless, Microsoft promises “plenty of exciting new Windows 10 devices” that will support Windows Hello. Devices that already have a fingerprint reader and can be upgraded to Windows 10 should also work with Windows Hello.

For both iris and facial recognition, Windows Hello will leverage special hardware (such as Intel’s RealSense 3D cameras) and software to accurately verify your identity. Microsoft promises a picture of your eye or your face won’t work. Infrared technology will ensure that you can be recognized in a variety of lighting conditions.

Windows Hello is an important security feature, as the company says that the functionality is not just more convenient than typing a password. That’s because Windows Hello will support authenticating applications, enterprise content, and “even certain online experiences” without storing a password on the device or a server.

Microsoft explains why it believes this is progress:

You — uniquely you — plus your device are the keys to your Windows experience, apps, data and even websites and services – not a random assortment of letters and numbers that are easily forgotten, hacked, or written down and pinned to a bulletin board. Modern sensors recognize your unique personal characteristics to sign you in on a supporting Windows 10 device.

Of course, convenience and simplicity should never sacrifice security and privacy. Windows Hello offers enterprise-grade security that will meet the requirements of organizations with some of the strictest requirements and regulations. It’s a solution that government, defense, financial, health care and other related organizations will use to enhance their overall security, with a simple experience designed to delight.

The company goes as far as to hint that it wants to unseat passwords as the primary method for protecting our personal information. Instead of having to create and remember multiple complex passwords, Windows 10 will make you the password.

To make this possible, Microsoft needs to woo IT managers, software developers, and website authors to support Windows Hello. The company has created a programming system, codenamed Passport, so they can let users sign in to their sites and apps without a password. If Windows Hello is not supported by the user’s hardware, Passport will fall back to asking for a PIN or password.

Windows Hello will store your biometric signature locally on the device to be used for just two purposes: unlocking your Windows 10 device and using Passport. In addition to various apps and websites, Microsoft also expects Passport to work with thousands of enterprise Azure Active Directory services at launch.

Last but not least, using Windows Hello and Passport will be opt-in, not opt-out. That means it is completely optional. That means the password won’t be killed off anytime soon, but everyone knows that wouldn’t happen overnight anyway, even with multiple tech companies pushing for it.